Adequate Cover for Long-term Illness

In my opinion the answers are a) No b) Yes c) No
It would be illegal only if there were an accident and it was decided that the school was negligent.
Do the governors know about this? Do they care? Only one way to find out.

In my opinion it is no where near to being legal. The Head would be considered to be acting in gross negligence if anything happens. If a teacher was away for a few moments dealing with an emergency that would be different.
If you left your child alone at home while you went out shopping how do you think the courts would act if anything happened to her. It would be different if she was hurt while you were answering the door.

That is very interesting, this is not the first instance I have had with three children where I have felt that a situation would not have been allowed to happen in the state sector.
many thanks for your input.